Okay, so one of the first tips I read was to used filtered/distilled water that is room temperture. It is supposed to make the nail polish spread out easier in the water - I did not have any so I thought I would just test it out with my regular water. (I have a feeling this may be a part of the problem that I ran in to - my nail polish did not spread out very far which caused it to be thick and sort of slide off my nail as it came out of the water!).

So I followed most of the steps from the tutorial - however, I did not bother with vaseline or tape to cover my fingers. I was okay with using a lot of nail polish remover.

Step 1. Nail cleanser & Base coat

Step 2. One quick layer of white base and let dry well. (I have seen tutorials that recommend a clear base and a white or colored base - both seemed to work so I tried a white base coat).

Step 3. Room temperture distilled water in a cup.

Step 4. Be prepared - have your nail polish lids unscrewed and ready, it is difficult to make a design if the nail polish dries

Step 5. Drop one polish at a time, until it looks like a bullseye (If you notice from the second photo, mine should spread out more - regular water problems)

Step 6. Use a toothpick (or a needle, or something similar)

Step 7. Dip finger on an angle in to the design (I may have done this slightly wrong too - I think maybe the nail should hit most of the design at the same time - I may have had mine too straight up and down so some of the polish rolled!)

Step 8. While the nail is still in the water use a toothpick to remove the excess polish on the top of the water - this is quite easy it will attach right away.

Step 9. Lift finger out of water (yes it does't look as pretty as the design in my water cup!)

Step 10. Clean up & continue on all the other nails!

So I contined even though it wasn't turn out very nicely! Here are my final results:

So, they turned out to be a little more abstract Water Marbling than the nice, cute, & precise nails I was going for. I will definately be buying some filtered water and hopefully it will improve it a little bit.

I know this isn't the best Manicure Monday to post, but I would like to see the progession after trying a few times to see if it really does get easier!

I think it looks awesome! I've done this with un-filtered water and it worked just fine. I think the key is figuring out what you need to do with the pattern in the water to make it look right on the nail.